Austrian oil and gas company OMV AG (OMV.VI) is expected to take legal action against its Hungarian rival MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) on Monday to dispute the validity of votes cast by shareholders who voted in favor of MOL's current management at an annual meeting last month, the Financial Times newspaper reported.
OMV has declared its intention to take over MOL but has met with repeated rejection by the Hungarian company.
OMV says the votes are invalid because those shareholders' close links with the company make their holdings "quasi treasury shares" controlled by MOL, the FT said.
OMV will seek a ruling striking out the meeting and to have the courts issue a declaration that shareholders linked to the company shouldn't be allowed to vote or be paid dividends in the future, the FT reported.